Welcome To Paradise
by PantherlilysKiwi
Summary: It's summer time and Fairy Tail is off on Holiday to the wonderful beach resort of Paradise! A place, it seems, where its mages find love. However, something sinister is stirring beneath the surface. Gajevy with mentioned Jerza, Fraxus and Nalu
1. Voices

_"WE'RE OFF ON HOLIDAY!"_  
"Did I turn the oven off?"  
"I hope the weather's going to be nice."  
Such was the general buzz of Fairy Tail as they gathered in the guild hall before leaving for a fortnight break in Paradise, the greatest beach resort in Fiore if not Earthland. Levy McGarden stood alone, suitcase and rucksack on the floor, and observed her bustling guildmates. Everyone was choosing who they were going to sit with for the train ride there and standing in groups of two to ten. Levy wanted to go with Lucy Heartfilia, her best friend, but her group had too many people as it was; despite her tiny stature, it would have been physically impossible to fit Levy in the train carriage.  
"We'll meet up on the train, Levy-chan." Lucy had promised.  
Having decided to sit with Jet and Droy, Levy picked up her luggage and started walking over to them when she felt a hand fall upon her shoulder. She looked behind her to see Gajeel Redfox wearing his usual cocky grin.  
Levy always found Gajeel _confusing_. Sure, she liked him as a friend but recently his crimson eyes seemed less threatening and his silver tongue seemed less sharp and even his stupid little laugh made her knees feel weak and set butterflies amok in her stomach. Usually, it was easy enough to ignore but recently these feelings had become more prominent.  
 _Could it be love?_ Levy had thought on numerous occasions, only to remind herself that a) there were more important things in life and b) even if it was love, Gajeel Redfox would never fall for a weakling like herself. Levy's reverie was interrupted by a small "Gihi".  
"Hey, Shrimp. You seem a little lonely." Gajeel said, laughing at his own joke.  
Levy just sighed and muttered, "Stupid Gajeel." Before starting to walk away.  
As Levy skulked off, Gajeel's face fell. Just before she left his reach, he grabbed hold of her wrist. Levy turned around and asked what the hell he wanted.  
"As I was saying before you started sulking," Gajeel replied, "I was wondering if you wanted to sit with Lily and I on the train."  
"Well actually, I was gonna sit with Jet and Droy."  
"Then we'll come with you." Gajeel scowled, a glint of something in his vermilion eyes.  
Jealousy? Levy wondered, No, that's stupid.  
"So can we go with you?" Lily asked from below, "As much as we enjoy each other's company, we'd like to spend a bit of time with... others."  
Every once of common sense in Levy's head was screaming "NO!"  
 _Jet and Droy are going to be there, you know what they're like..._  
 _You know Gajeel gets motion sickness... this could be messy..._  
 _You know for a fact that this'll be five hours of height puns..._  
But one tiny voice in Levy McGarden's head whispered;  
 _What if he likes you?_  
And it was that voice that made Levy say yes.


	2. Comrades

Jet and Droy sat frozen in awkward silence across from Levy, Gajeel and Lily. Nobody particularly _wanted_ to be silent, but the silence crept into the carriage and held onto the quintet with solid steel talons.  
When Levy had asked Jet and Droy to sit with her on the train, they knew it was too good to be true. Gajeel accompanied her everywhere nowadays. In fact, recently, it seemed that Levy preferred Gajeel's damn _cat_ to them.  
The train sat as motionless as the people in its carriage as there were still crowds milling around the platform in preparation for the five hour ride to Foxglove, the city where Paradise was. The silence was oppressive, every moment lingered for much more than a moment. Finally, Droy spoke up and broke the spell of silence.  
"Hey, um... Gajeel?" He said against every ounce of his conscience.  
"What?" The answer was flat as a month-old Coca-Cola.  
"Well...um..." Droy forced out, but Gajeel's glare made Droy feel that the Dragon Slayer's eyes were built from hellfire. Before Droy could pass out, Jet finished his friend's sentence.  
"I think he was wondering if you get motion sickness like Natsu."  
"Eh?" He replied, "Didnt need to make a song and dance about it."  
Jet and Droy shifted uncomfortably in their seats.  
"For the record, I do get motion sickness, but not as badly as Salamander does."  
The silence began to creep back into the carriage.  
Levy, who was beginning to regret bringing Gajeel along, suggested that Jet and Droy should buy snacks and drinks from the tuck shop in the front carriage. Jet and Droy immediately agreed and hastily left. As they walked down the train corridor, they grew worried.  
"Maybe it was a bad idea to leave Levy alone with Gajeel..." Droy fretted.  
"What's the point," Jet spat as they reached the front of the train, "they spend all their time together. She obviously likes him, even though we're the ones who are always there for her. I just DON'T GET IT!" Droy was shell-shocked by his friend's outburst.  
"Hey!" Jet and Droy turned around to see Natsu and Happy, laden with food. "What's all the commotion? I know it's Fairy Tail but can't a guy eat without someone shouting the place down?"  
It was then that tears welled up in Jet and Droy's eyes and spilled as they explained their situation, earning quite a crowd as they did. Finally Gray (who had joined said congregation) solemnly placed the palms of his hands together and said, as if in prayer:  
"Let us take this moment to remember our comrades in the friendzone."  
"Gray," Jet piped up, "that was touching, but where are your clothes?"  
Everyone laughed as Gray realised to his horror that he was standing in nothing but his underwear. Jet and Droy, laughing their tears away realised that even if they couldn't have Levy, they would always have their friends: their comrades.

 _Meanwhile..._

Levy's face was as red as Gajeel's eyes as Jet and Droy fled the carriage.  
"Gajeel... Lily... I'm so sorry..." she stuttered, "I thought it might be a little awkward but I didn't imagine anything like this and... this must be awful for you and- and it's all my fault!" tears fell from Levy's eyes and streaked down her crimson cheeks.  
"Hey Shrimp," Gajeel replied, "yeah, it's awkward but that's no reason to cry." Levy's tears turned into a downpour. Lily, not knowing what to say, remained silent.  
"Shrimp! Why are you crying?" Levy didn't seem to hear. "Shrimp!" Levy buried her head in her knees, still weak with tears. "Levy... please, stop crying." Levy held back the rain in her eyes in shock at hearing Gajeel say her actual name, but she remained still. Gajeel placed an arm around Levy's shoulders and pulled her towards him. Levy looked up into Gajeel's eyes as he looked into hers and said, "Shrimp, trust me, you're doing good."  
Levy's heart was racing at a million miles an hour as Gajeel removed his arm. Lily gave her a smile as if to confirm what his owner had said. As Levy held the Exceed close to her chest, Gajeel moaned,  
"Hey, where are those losers with the food?"  
At that moment, Jet and Droy burst into the carriage, their arms full of food and drink for the coming journey.  
"Sorry we're late!" They cried, "Look, Levy, we got you some of those sour cherries you love! And kiwi juice for you, Lily! We didn't know what to get you, Gajeel, so we just bought as much as possible!"  
"Thank you," Lily replied," but you didn't have to put this much thought in..."  
"Of course we do," said Jet, "We're comrades."  
Finally, the train started to move and Gajeel lurched over in a bout of uncontrolled motion sickness.  
Lily groaned, "We may be comrades, but if he throws up, I'm not cleaning it."


	3. Colours

"Levy... Lily... I'm going to throw up!"  
The train from Magnolia was four hours into its voyage to Foxglove and Gajeel Redfox lay on a bench, his stomach churning and his face as green as Fried's hair.  
"Lilyyy..." His moan was drowned by a loud "blleeeaaauugghh" as Levy and Lily held his hair aloft to provide clear passage for what came out of his mouth.  
This had become such a common occurrence that it didn't bother those in the carriage, and had become the journey's entertainment.  
"Is that corn?" Jet asked eagerly, pen and paper in hand.  
"Nope," Came Lily's reply, drawing a tick on his own sheet, "that's cheese."  
"Are you sure?" Droy asked hopefully.  
"Would you like to eat it yourself and see?" Lily retorted.  
"So it's definitely cheese?" Levy asked underneath a mass of Gajeel's long, black hair.  
"I told you so, didn't I?"  
"BINGO!" Levy cried with joy as Gajeel groaned once again. The others sighed and crumpled up their papers for what must have been the fifty-seventh time and added them to the ever-growing mountain on the floor.  
"Hey Levy," Jet announced, wrinkling his nose at the mess on the floor and the smell emanating from the slowly filling plastic bag next to it, "Droy and I are gonna get some more drinks: you coming?"  
"I'll pass." Condescendingly stroking the hair of the nauseous mage in front of her, Levy smirked; "If I go, there'll be barely anyone to look after poor ickle Gajeel."  
"You sure?" Jet taunted.  
"Gajeel's a big boy, you know." Lily added. "And if you're not going then I will." After Levy gave her approval, Jet, Droy and Lily strolled out of the carriage.  
"Shrimp," Gajeel muttered through the void of illness, "If you're gonna stroke my hair, at least do it right." Levy's cheeks were tinged pink as her heart started racing again. As Gajeel turned onto his back and rested his head on Levy's lap. Opening an eye, he saw the pink in Levy's cheeks and the flustered look upon her face and the way her hair fell like a picture frame and made her look like a work of art; and he noticed a faint smell of cherries and the comfort of her fingers in his hair and he noticed that all his thoughts lacked separation and had all merged into one giant jumble of words losing all regard for grammar and construction.

Gajeel loved it.

Giving a small "Gihi" to his companion, Gajeel grinned through his pain. Levy's cheeks flushed crimson and her fingers froze in the midst of Gajeel's locks of midnight black.  
"Gajeel..." she whispered as if winded, "Why are you in my lap?"  
"It's comfortable here," he grinned in return, "Besides. I like the view." Levy was now as red as red could get, her heart cartwheeling like an Olympic gymnast and her stomach filled to the brim with hyperactive butterflies. Gajeel's own face filled with pink intermingling with the green. "Gihi." He snickered. Their eyes met, and they found themselves like that for a while, red gazing into hazel and hazel gazing into red. Levy smiled and opened her mouth to speak when the carriage door flew open.

"Hey Levy, we're back! We brought friends! How's it-" Jet, Droy, Lily and Lucy and Happy (who they had brought along) glared in shock at what was unfolding before them.  
"Well, well, well," Lily smirked, "Is there something you two aren't telling us?"


	4. Paradise

"Well well well," Lily smirked, "Is there something you're not telling us?"  
Lily, Jet, Droy, Happy and Lucy had just walked into the train carriage to find Gajeel lying in Levy's lap having what appeared to be a rather tender  
"It's not what you think it is." Protested Levy, "Gajeel got uncomfortable and-" Levy was too flustered and embarrassed to continue.  
"Suuuuuuuure." Lucy replied. Levy opened her mouth to retort, but words failed her. To be honest, she was rather happy alone with Gajeel; the racing of her heart and the butterflies in her stomach felt like a rush of adrenaline, like a rollercoaster that seemed unsafe and could break at any moment but damn, the ride was fun.  
 _Is this what love feels like?_ Levy thought to herself  
Levy's daydream was interrupted by a giggle from below,  
"They liiiiiiiiiiiike each other."  
This earned a death glare to rival all of Erza's put together. However, before blood could be spilled, a cool, female voice came through the train's loudspeakers:  
"Attention all passengers, the train arrives in Foxglove in ten minutes. Please ensure you don't leave anything behind."

"The mages stayed still- the silence that had gripped them had returned with a vengeance. It grasped onto them for what seemed like forever until Lucy said,  
"We should probably get everything ready." And then added with a smirk: " Why don't we leave these two in peace..." Chortling, the intruders left the carriage. Lily, being the last to leave, popped his head through the door and said,  
"Don't worry, Levy. We know. We're just teasing you." He smiled, closed the door and walked away with the others. Grateful that she was once again in peace, she looked down to the man on her  
"Nicely handled." He muttered, giving a small "Gihi".  
"Sorry about that..." Levy sighed. "We're nearly there now, anyway. If you get off my lap, l'll get our stuff ready." The answer was short and simple:  
"No." Levy's heart began to pound at her ribcage.  
"But we need to-"  
"No." Gajeel repeated, "I like it here. I like you here." Levy's breath stopped. "Gajeel..." Gajeel placed a finger to her lips. Now was the time. There was no going back. They knew exactly how they felt and what they wanted. Gajeel raised a hand and placed it on Levy's cheek, caressing her face. He pulled her closer, his eyes locked on hers. Their faces were inches apart, but the space felt far too large. He closed the gap more. Now there were just centimetres, millimetres between them.

The train lurched to a sudden halt, throwing Gajeel off Levy's lap. Gajeel's face was bright red and Levy's a similar hue. It was too late. The moment was ruined.  
"Well..." Gajeel mumbled, the veil of motion sickness lifting now that the train had  
"Well..." Levy replied in kind. They quickly grabbed their bags and hurried off the train. Gajeel ran to find Lily.  
 _What have I done?_ He thought to himself.  
"Gajeel!" The black exceed greeted him, "How was your journey?" Gajeel scowled and mumbled,  
"Later." Lily grew curious, but pushed it to the back of his mind. Looking around, Gajeel saw that Levy had composed herself and found Lucy and the other  
 _Damn_. Gajeel thought. The time was perfect... she was perfect. Did she feel the same about him? Was it just a spur of the moment for her?  
He was going to have to try again.

The members of Fairy Tail gathered outside the station in one large group. Makarov stepped to the front and told them what was to happen  
"Okay, brats!" He yelled, "We've made it to Foxglove, but it's another two miles to Paradise. There is a coach running down for those who want to take it: those who don't want to," he glanced at the dragon slayers, "will have to walk. Mira has kindly offered to lead the walk down. If you want to get on the coach, join me. If not, go to Mira." Naturally, Gajeel wanted to avoid transportation at all costs, so he started walking towards Mira. When he joined her, he found Natsu, Wendy, Romeo, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Juvia and... Levy?!  
Sure enough, Levy was there talking to Lucy. She was making it look like Lucy had dragged her down so she could be with Natsu, but that wasn't the case. The only thing on her mind was Gajeel and what happened on the train. She saw him join the group. When he saw her, his cheeks flushed... He was about to turn away. Now was her only "Gajeel!" she called. Gajeel stopped dead. "Gajeel, hey!" Gajeel turned around to face the script wizard. She was smiling... It was a beautiful  
"Hey, Shrimp!" he replied, resting an elbow on the crown of her head. Looking down, he muttered, "I'm sorry."  
Levy managed (with some difficulty) to lift Gajeel's arm off her  
"Don't apologise!" she chirped, "It was an accident, right?"  
Gajeel's heart sank into his  
"Right." he confirmed  
"Hey! Don't beat yourself up! Let's walk down together." She grinned. Gajeel gave a sad smile  
"Okay!" Mira called from the front, "If you're walking, we set off now!"  
Those walking to the resort followed Mira as she made her way from the station. The first two minutes of the walk, Gajeel and Levy stayed quiet, taking in their surroundings and contemplating the events of the train  
 _Maybe I shouldn't have said it was an accident..._  
 _Maybe I should have just told her how I feel..._  
Then they came to a long street which opened up to a large complex full of blocks of flats, enclosed by a giant whitewashed wall with a large, wrought iron gate in the centre. As Gajeel looked down at Levy, he knew that she would have to be his. And so he vowed to himself to tell Levy how he felt before the trip was over.


	5. Hotel Rooms

p data-p-id="3ac1cb981eeece10fc98e5a38b59f880"The mages gasped in awe as they found themselves looking at a truly giant complex of apartments. As they entered the gargantuan gates to Paradise, they saw rows upon rows of groups of eight small, whitewashed blocks with adjacent whitewashed garages. Each group of blocks surrounded a pool with several bars and an internet cafe. The floor was sand coloured brick which grew smaller the closer they got to the beach which was partitioned into twelve sections- one for each group of blocks. Finally, the walkers reached the reception, catching up to those who had taken the coach. Gajeel stood behind Levy, seeing her in this state turned his cheeks slightly pink and cast a sly smile upon his face./p  
p data-p-id="0cc3b5d0dc88a44dd153ef7dbcefcca2"Levy stared in awe at the resort around her, she knew it was big but she wasn't expecting anything like this. The sun beat down upon her, drenching her in golden /"Isn't it incredible, Gajeel?" She said wistfully, turning to face him. When she saw his facial expression, the hue of her cheeks matched his perfectly. After their near-kiss on the train, he was all she could think about. He had shown signs of liking her! What if he really did?! Either way, Levy was not going to chicken out this time, she swore to herself that she would admit her feelings to Gajeel before the holiday, no, the week was over. Gajeel was saying something, but she couldn't work out what. All she could see was the movement of his lips and the glow of his eyes. She used to find his eyes scary: the vermilion hue rather like those of a real life dragon. Over time, however, they had softened and they were more like a fireplace on a cold winter's day- always there to welcome her /"Earthland to Shrimp." Levy heard Gajeel's deep voice cutting through her train of thought. "Earthland to Shrimp, do you read me?" Levy snapped out of her daydream and returned to reality. She uttered a quick apology before Master Makarov walked out of the reception, a box of keys in a box and a sheet of paper in /"Listen up, Brats!" He yelled, the guild fell silent. "You may have noticed that we can't all stay in one block, so we're splitting into groups. Each of you will grab a key from this box and on that key is your room number. Some of you have rooms already picked out for you due to special request. The rest of you will choose your room at random. LINE UP!" The guild formed a line. The master firstly handed out keys from special requests. After handing Alzack a key to a family suite in block 42, the guild members collected their keys at random. Levy was near the back of the queue and there were only five keys left. When she retrieved her key, she saw the room number./p  
p data-p-id="bcbaa1dfd70d3aa4b724c13c98dce4ff"em42L/em/p  
p data-p-id="0c2a919b02938ea313c438344bb81317"Looking at the number, Levy couldn't help but wonder where Gajeel was staying. She hoped that he wouldn't be too far away...br /"Levy-chan!" Levy whipped round to see Lucy with her own room key. br /"Where are you staying, Lu-chan?" she asked. Lucy showed Levy her key, /p  
p data-p-id="e5eec022bfe0d9b879bd449423e8bc06"em42B/em/p  
p data-p-id="cff862996404f706015526c37b5219d2""We're in the same block!" Lucy /"Hey Luce," Natsu (who had just got his key) called before running over to his friend with Happy, "What block?"br /"42!"br /"Cool! Looks like we're in the same one!" The two grinned at each other before going slightly red. Levy smirked, it was obvious that Lucy and Natsu liked each other. Before she could comment, Makarov called for everyone except those in block 42 to head to their rooms. Levy, Natsu, Happy and Lucy stayed behind alongside Alzack, Bisca and Asuka, Gray, Erza, Juvia, Cana, Wendy and Carla, Romeo, Mira... and Gajeel and Lily. Levy didn't know what to think. Part of her was happy because it would make her mission easier and she would get to be near her friend, but part of her was worried. Mira was going to be there. Everybody knew that Mira thought of herself as a bit of a matchmaker and that she would... rush /The group in block 42 gathered around the master as he spoke to them:br /"Okay, brats! Block 42 is pretty difficult to find, so I'll just have to take you there."br /"What block are you staying in, Master?" Mira asked sweetly,br /"I shall be staying in block 5. Now follow me!" Levy and the others followed the elderly man silently towards the beach. Even the dragon slayers were quiet. When they reached the block they saw that it was beautiful. Five stories high and incredibly modern. It was right next to the beach and had the best view of the pool and the rest of the resort. The seventeen mages (plus the master) stood with their mouths agape at the building before them. It was then that they noticed /"Oh yes," The master added. "Since this is a stereotypical holiday resort fanfiction, Jellal Fernandez is no longer a criminal and will be staying with you." The mages accepted this instantly and chatted happily to Jellal and as the master left they found their way to their rooms to unpack./p 


	6. Longing

p data-p-id="0a463aba8f1d2664bcaa7bbf04e6e6ab"The inside of the hotel block was just as beautiful as its exterior. There were five floors, the first four had three rooms and the top floor held the penthouse suite. Leading up to the upper four floors was a staircase that snaked round the edge of the hallway and appeared to float in the air. The foyer where the mages stood was sparsely decorated with simple, black and white cube structures. A cube chandelier hung from the ceiling. Levy looked at her key and found that she was on the third floor. She began to haul her bags up the stairs with little /emThis place is amazing, but they could at least install a lift/em. Levy /"Hey Shrimp," Levy didn't even need to turn to see who was talking to her. She could feel that he was close. Right behind her. Levy's cheeks were dusted with /"W-What?" Levy /"I hate to be rude," he replied with a smirk, "But some of us have to get up the stairs." Levy /"Well what can I do about it?" She snapped. She wouldn't normally act like this around anyone, but Gajeel was being so... annoying! Why did he have to send his stupid mixed signals? Earlier, on the train, he was being so clear... He was going to kiss her! Or at least she thought he was. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing. Levy would have to clarify her feelings soon because her heart had become a timebomb and if she didn't act soon, her feelings would just /If he likes me, why can't he just say so? /p  
p data-p-id="cdee3b2f0867f6b0395a529b1fd94c54"If she likes me, why can't she just say so? Gajeel thought to himself as he confronted the tiny bluenette over her "slowness of getting up the stairs". Gajeel had set himself a goal of telling the script mage his feelings by the end of the fortnight, but he knew that simply wouldn't do. He liked her, and every second since that train stopped, the near-kiss was all that was on his /emIf I don't ask the pocket woman on a date within three days/em, He had agreed to himself, emThen I'll quite happily wrap my mouth around Salamander's "little dragon"./embr /Shuddering at the thought of his... forfeit... Gajeel offered to carry Levy's bags up to her apartment. Levy hesitantly agreed. Gajeel picked up the suitcase and found that it weighed about as much as its owner /What the hell's in here?! Gajeel wondered, before realising /emHer underwear's probably in here.../em Gajeel spent the rest of the climb trying to stop a gentle flow of blood from his /Finally, the pair reached the landing of the third floor. Like the ground floor, the hallway branched out to three different rooms and had a cube chandelier in the ceiling. However, instead of snaking around the room, the staircase to the penthouse cut right through the middle of the hallway. Levy found her way to room 42L and Gajeel followed, both his and her suitcases in hand (and his nose thankfully dry).br /"Thanks for carrying my stuff, Gajeel!" Levy chirped as she unlocked the door with a smile. She turned around to face him and did something unexpected. She wrapped her arms around his midriff, burying her face in his chest. Gajeel was, quite simply, spellbound. In total shock, he wrapped his arms around /"It was nothing, Shrimp." He could barely speak, his heart was in his throat impeding all words that may arise. Finally, he managed to force something out. "Would you like me to take your stuff in?"br /"Nah, it's fine." Levy replied, "You've done enough already." Then Gajeel remembered his... /"Well, I'm just across the hall, room 42J. If you need anything, come to me." Levy disentangled herself from Gajeel, thanked him and walked into her room. Gajeel grinned and gave a quiet "Gihi" before entering his own apartment where Lily waited./p  
p data-p-id="ac48a446f97e4c2b1a8cc08a33d0c54a"As Levy walked into the apartment that would be her home for the next fortnight, her jaw dropped. It was amazing. The apartment was mainly open-plan. The kitchen was larger than most residential apartments and it came with a small dining room, a living room with a 52 inch TV, DVD and blu-ray player and every games console you could wish for, each stocked with hundreds of games. Everything was extraordinarily modern and minimalist. Despite Levy's preference for antiquity and tradition, she was in awe of the place. She opened her suitcase and took out the seventy-two books she had brought for her journey. Fortunately, they all fit into the bedroom's miniature bookshelf. Then she realised /Gajeel was carrying my underwear! She blushed a deep red that lasted for the rest of her unpacking. Finally, when she was done, she collapsed on the bed only to be alerted by a knocking on the door. Wiping sweat from her brow and trying to get her hair in some order, Levy answered it to find /"Hate to interrupt," He smirked, "But Mira's ordered pizza and we're all eating in the penthouse. We're gonna be watching movies too. Gihi."br /br /strong/(^-^)/ Timeskip - in the penthouse\\(^-^)\/strong/p  
p data-p-id="c3eabd58b93b45aef209cfaf8441ce93"Erza never thought she'd be in this /"Hey," Jellal said from next to her, offering a plate of pizza, "You want a slice? It's good!" Erza took a piece and bit into it, happy for the company of her old friend. Mira had insisted that they sat boy-girl but Erza was going to sit with Jellal anyway. Everyone more or less knew about her feelings for /Damn that infernal blue cat...br /Erza looked over to see Gajeel feeding Levy a small slice of seafood pizza. She smirked, sometimes the girls were just as dense as their male counterparts: they didn't know love when they saw it and there was definitely something going on between those two. Erza sighed, Mira had organised a movie night, but had insisted on watching 'The Notebook'. Erza loved Mira, but in matchmaker mode, some argued that she was more of a devil than she was in her Satan Soul form. Finally, Mira had agreed on a compromise to watch 'Megamind' so that little Asuka (whose family had kindly agreed to let them into their room in the first place) would find it more agreeable. As the film started, Erza casually draped an arm over Jellal, but showed interest in Levy and Gajeel. Everyone in Fairy Tail had taken bets on when they would get together. Erza herself had bet that they would get together on the final night, and had placed down a considerate amount of money. Everyone had. br /emMira's going to be a billionaire.../em She thought./p  
p data-p-id="2ce8c17378058762bb96cc0554780129"As the finishing credits of the film rolled, Erza looked to her side to talk to Jellal about it to find that he had fallen asleep on her shoulder. In fact, she was the only one in the room awake... apart from Gajeel. Gajeel was lying with Levy in his lap, leaning her sleeping head against his chest. Erza knew that he had arranged that. He was playing with her soft, blue hair, gently stroking the azure waves. He gently pressed his lips to the crown of her /emWho'd have thought,/em She chuckled to herself,em That Gajeel Redfox can be soft./embr /"Don't say a word, Titania." he muttered. Erza smiled, maybe he wasn't as dense as she thought./p 


	7. Mine

Levy woke up to find herself in her holiday apartment, sunlight pouring into her bedroom, drenching everything it hit. She remembered the previous night with a smile. She had spent the night watching 'Megamind' with her friends...

 _and Gajeel._

Levy grinned. She had spent the majority of the movie night with Gajeel: listening to him singing the songs he recognised from the film- they had even shared a pizza.  
At one point in the night, Lucy had dragged her out to talk to her. Levy told her everything: if things went to plan, they'd be dating soon anyway.  
"Just be more... forward." Lucy suggested. Just then, Erza walked into the room.  
"What's wrong?" she asked, "Are you not enjoying the movie?" Levy found herself explaining her situation again, and Erza came up with a brilliant plan. And so Levy had pretended to fall asleep in Gajeel's arms.  
She remembered the feeling of Gajeel's fingers running through her hair, softly caressing each blue lock. She remembered, at the end of the night, how he carried her back to her room- holding her close to his chest. She remembered her heart racing and how difficult it was to maintain her act. She remembered as he set her upon the bed, pulling the duvet around her body and pressing his lips to her forehead.  
 _"Goodnight,"_ He had said before leaving the apartment, _"My Shrimp."_

 _My Shrimp._

Those words were the only thing on Levy's mind. Not only was he being a total softy, he had called her his. Maybe he actually liked her! Levy knew that today was the day. Today was the day that she was going to confess her feelings. Levy dragged herself out of bed and got dressed, she was about to put some light makeup on (she wanted everything to be perfect) when Mira burst in.  
"Mira!" Levy exclaimed, "How did you get a key?"  
"Master gave me a master key." She replied matter-of-factly. "Don't bother with makeup today, we're going to the beach! Pack a bag and lets go!"  
Levy agreed, gathering her things into her beach bag.

 _I'll confess to him on the beach._ She thought.

Bag ready and breakfast in hand, Levy left her apartment and locked the door, checking her reflection in a mirror just before she did.

 _Deep breaths, Levy. It's gonna go fine._

"YO, METAL MOUTH!" Natsu yelled to Gajeel. Images sprung to his mind of the bet he had made himself.

 _I need to make a move soon._

"SHUT UP, FLAME BRAIN!" Gray yelled from the other side of the group. They were heading down to the block's private beach: apparently the quietest and most beautiful in the whole resort. Once we got there, we met up with the girls: all of them in swimsuits and attempting to inflate various beach toys.  
"Hey guys!" Mira waved cheerily as she sealed up a recently inflated orca floatie.  
"Yo, Mira!" Natsu called back. Gajeel looked at the group of girls and saw Levy struggling to inflate a dolphin. Her face was flushed and flustered and her hair was all over the place in the most beautiful way. Her red and white striped swimsuit showed off her petite yet perfect figure, accentuating her assets whilst preserving her innocence.

 _Don't get a nosebleed, don't get a nosebleed, DON'T GET A NOSEBLEED!_ Gajeel thought frantically to himself, the script mage's body seriously threatening to make his blood reach... unwanted places.

"Gajeel?" Levy said conversationally, "You do know your nose is bleeding?"

 _SHIT!_

"Huh." He tried to recover, "I was fighting Salamander earlier so it's probably that." She then gave him a look of worry. It comforted him that she cared, but he shrugged it off and added, "You seem to be struggling there. Want me to help?"  
"It's fine. I can do it myself." Levy blushed.  
"Okay. But don't strain yourself." He walked towards a deck chair, but not before sneaking in the name Levy so hated, "Shrimp."

Gajeel lay back, Lily was with the other exceeds who were with Wendy who easily inflated each beach toy, meaning that Gajeel was alone. He wore large sunglasses to conceal his eyes, glancing off to the side. He wasn't interested in the beach right now, or the weather. He was entirely fixated on Levy and the dolphin.

 _I will do it today. He convinced himself. I will make that midget mine today._

Finally, Levy finished inflating the dolphin and walked over to Gajeel.

Dude. He thought to himself. Play it cool.

"Hey." She chirped. Gajeel ignored her. "Hello?" She asked, annoyed.  
"Oh hey there midget gem," He replied with a smirk, "you're so small I didn't notice you there."  
Levy pulled one of those adorable pissed-off chibi faces. She was mad.

 _Not cool, dude._ He scolded himself, _At least she doesn't think you're soft..._

"Sorry." He grumbled. An awkward silence ensued. Gajeel knew that he had to get Levy away from everyone. "You wanna walk?"  
Levy nodded in approval and Gajeel lifted himself from his chair. They walked by the azure ocean, the white sand blissfully warm beneath their feet, but none of that mattered to Gajeel. What mattered was the adorably shy brunette beside him, her breeze-tousled hair framing the ivory skin on her face, her hazel eyes brightened in the light of the sun.

 _Beautiful_. Gajeel felt himself blush. He looked back to find everyone having fun far behind them.  
"We've gone quite a way..." Levy muttered, her words mimicking his thoughts.  
"Yeah we have." Gajeel agreed. He turned to face her to find that she was already looking at him.

 _It's now or never, Gajeel._ Gajeel opened his mouth to speak when Levy cut in.  
"Gajeel I have something I need to tell you. I'm not sure how you'll react, but please promise that we can still be friends if what I say is stupid." She spoke quickly and fiddled with her hair, she seemed very shakey. It seemed as if Levy was going to do what he wanted to. Was she?  
"Sure, Shrimp. You don't say stupid things anyway." Levy gave an uneasy smile. She took a deep breath and started,  
"Gajeel I-"  
"LEVY-CHAN!" The two turned to find Lucy running toward them. "Levy-chan!" Lucy saw the situation. "Oh... am I interrupting?" She then saw the look on Levy's face, grabbed her wrist, dragging her away and leaving Gajeel alone. Levy looked back at him, giving an apologetic look. Gajeel shrugged back, indicating that it was all okay.

 _DAMN!_ Gajeel was incredibly angry at that moment. What did Levy want to say? There had been too many interruptions... He would have to ask her some other time and not let anything get in the way. Gajeel just stared at the ocean for a while, pondering what Levy was going to say. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily flying towards him.  
"Mira is initiating a game over there," he declared, "Care to join?" Gajeel shrugged and accompanied his exceed to the other side of the beach, knowing that soon, the Shrimp would be his.


	8. Fun and Games

p data-p-id="9c0325891b281391a13d02a1e80cd178""Come on, guys!" Mira cheered as Levy walked with Lucy toward where she sat. A frown crossed Levy's face, she had almost done it! Were the odds just trying to tell her it wasn't meant to be? She sat cross-legged in between Lucy and Wendy just as Gajeel and Lily came up and awkwardly took their seats in between Jellal and /"Okay!" Mira chirped, once the congregation of block 42 (minus the Connells, who went to do something more family appropriate), "Our first game is going to be "Paranoia"!" A few of the girls cheered, Levy groaned. She knew exactly what this would entail. The boys looked confused, and asked Mira for instructions. Mira explained that everyone would go around in the circle asking a question to the person on their right so that nobody else can hear. "The question has to be answered out loud." She added with an evil grin. br /"So why's it called "Paranoia"?" Gray asked. Mira flashed a wicked smile before /"Because after that, a flip flop is thrown into the air-"br /"A flip flop?" Natsu cut in, "That's a bit-" Natsu was thrown off by a tidal wave of death /"As I was saying," Mira carried on her lesson, "A flip flop is thrown into the air. If it lands face up, the question is revealed to the group."br /"So what happens if it lands face down?" Romeo asked, rather afraid. It was at this point that the group wasn't entirely sure if Mira was in her Satan Soul form or /"If it lands face down," she paused for effect, "Then the question is never revealed, and everyone is left wondering what it was."br /Considering that nobody was entirely sure what form Mira was in, nobody dared to leave the circle and all agreed to play. Mira decided that she'd start, and turned towards Lily. She whispered something in his ear, and he answered the question (with a slight blush on his cheeks) to the group:br /"Lucy."br /The whole group looked anxiously at one another as Lucy gave her friend a nervous glance: what had Mira asked? Mira produced a flip flop and threw it up, it landed in the golden sand face down, the straps slightly buried in the small dunes created by the slight winds from the sea. Mira /"Now you can't know what I asked! Now Lily, it's your go to ask Gajeel!" Lily jumped up to his partner's ear and whispered his question, a wicked smirk on his /"Hey!" Gajeel shouted, looking rather incredulous. Levy wondered what he was thinking and what the question /emWhat if it's about me?/embr /"Yo Metal Head," Natsu jeered, "Just answer the question!" Gajeel scowled deeply, his piercings glinting with malice and his eyes glazed over with a sinister gleam."Within three days." He growled, very quietly, but just loudly enough for the circle to hear. Everyone was silent, and nobody noticed the flip flop fly through the azure sky and float back down to land face up./p  
p data-p-id="9c0325891b281391a13d02a1e80cd178"As Gajeel saw that flip flop fall face up strong((say that five times fast))/strong he knew that everything was ruined. It seemed to land in slow-motion, but as soon as he saw it face up, he'd had enough./p  
p data-p-id="53ae4009dbcb0c0abb161f67ce16d409"emShit!/em He screamed internally,em Shit, shit shit!/em He got up and left the group. Walking as far as his legs could take him, Gajeel cursed himself for letting himself get caught up in this silly /emOf all things, why THAT?!/em He came to a standstill at the edge of the section of the beach which was walled off. He slumped against the whitewashed brick and held his head in his /em"So when are you planning to ask Levy out?"/embr /He knew it was foolish to answer. He could have just denied anything. Now everything was over. Maybe it just wasn't meant to /emBut how?/em He thought to himself, emHow could she be anything but the one? Ah, what the hell am I sayin'./embr /Gajeel cursed his newly emerging soft side, but everything he could only say to himself was true. He was in love with Levy McGarden, and there was nothing he could do about it. /p  
p data-p-id="c7f66cf587a49881f454b4739ecc2747""Gajeel!" Someone was calling his name. His head shot /emShit! /emIt was /"Gajeel!" she called /emShe probably knows now.../em Gajeel sighed to himself: it was hopeless. Levy had finally run up to meet him. In the distance, he could see the others all with their heads poked up like /"What did he tell you?" He groaned. Scowling at the floor. He had intended to at least make his confession special, and not for the sake of a stupid /"Nothing." Levy replied, lowering herself to sit by him. Gajeel sighed,br /"It landed face up though. He told you, didn't he?" Levy stopped /emOf course he did. Damned cat./embr /"I stopped him." Levy choked out, "I said that what he asked was clearly private and it was unfair for him to ask it." Gajeel finally brought himself to look at the bluenette and her whole being was dripping with honesty. Gajeel smiled. br /"Thanks, Shrimp." Levy beamed in return, and it was brighter than the sun above them. Then Gajeel realised, emI'm not gonna be stopped this time!/em He readied himself, and said, "Hey Levy," Levy was caught off guard, she wasn't used to Gajeel using her real /"Yeah?"br /"You know the others are all going drinking tomorrow night?" His pulse was faster than a Formula One racecar, his heart in his /"Yeah?" Levy replied, a glimmer of something in her /emIt looks like... hope?/embr /"Well..." There was no turning back now. For real this time. "I was wondering if you'd like to accompany me instead." Levy began to reply, but Gajeel lifted his finger to silence her. The brief pause he gave added yet more weight to the already heavy words that would change his life forever: "On a date."/p 


	9. Trust Me

It was surreal, Levy couldn't contain herself any longer. Gajeel Redfox had asked her on a date! She squealed as she ran away from Gajeel and back to the others on the beach. She was immediately swarmed with questions that were quickly dismissed: Lily giving a knowing smirk all the while. Mira decided that the beach was boring and that she wanted to go to Paradise's water park. As well as pools for every group of blocks, Paradise Resort had a gigantic water park for all of its guests to enjoy. Armed with floaties, the group strolled in to the gigantic glass dome, amazed at the place they were in. Despite Paradise's gargantuan size, Levy found it surprising that the water park could even fit in such a place. It seemed to have taken a fair bit of inspiration from Ryuuzetsu Land, with its own Love Love Slider and aquarium. Sure enough, half the guild was inside, and the various pools and rides were full of people both from Fairy Tail and from all over Fiore. Levy watched as Jellal bought a gleeful Erza a strawberry cheesecake flavoured ice cream and Natsu initiate a fight with Gray who was being dragged by Juvia up to the Love Love Slider which was already being ridden by Freed and Laxus.  
Levy decided to go join the other girls in a small pool near the back of the water park. Nigh on all of her friends were there.  
All in their very revealing bikinis... Levy thought as she stared down at her orange one-piece, In their giant-boobed glory... Levy noticed that out of all the girls, she certainly had the least sex appeal. They were all at least three cup sizes larger than her. _Where's Wendy when you need her?_  
"Hey Levy-chan!" Lucy cooed, "Come and join us!" Levy smiled and jumped in, but felt extremely self conscious. Soon enough, a splashing fight ensued and every single girl there managed to look sexy no matter what they did. All of them but Levy, it seemed.  
 _This is awful._ She thought to herself, upset. _I'll never be as good as them... how the hell has Gajeel even asked me on a date?_ Levy began to panic. _What if he suddenly decides that he doesn't like me? What if he's made a mistake? I could ask him but... It may seem a little needy! Kyaah! I don't want to mess this up!_  
"Hey, Levy!" Mira waved a hand in front of her face, Levy snapped out of her reverie.  
I'm turning into Juvia...  
"Huh? Oh hey, Mira."  
"We're gonna go on that floaty river thing, you coming?" Mira chirped. Levy decided that she had had enough of being around her far too perfect friends and declined, she decided to go and get dressed and maybe get some ice cream. Just as she was nearing the changing cubicles (where she had left her bag) she was stopped by Gajeel.  
"You okay, Levy?" He asked.  
 _What do I say? What do I do?_ Levy thought to herself, her cheeks heating up, _I can't seem too needy, but what if I lie and he passes me off as a liar!_ She was becoming rather flustered, _But what if I tell him what's wrong, that might make him think the same and he won't want to go on that date with me!_ Levy was about to say that she was fine when Gajeel took hold of her wrist and brought her over to a cluster of deck chairs.  
"What's up?" he asked, showing genuine concern.  
"Nothing!" Levy said defiantly,  
"You're a terrible liar, you know that." Gajeel chuckled, "Come on, what's up?"  
"The sky." She replied matter-of-factly, and then realised something, "Where's Lily?" Gajeel pointed to a place behind her and Levy turned to see Lily talking rather flirtatiously to a short, navy-blue furred exceed. Levy giggled at how silly he looked trying to impress this girl.  
"Anyway," Gajeel continued, "I answered your question, and you ain't answered mine."  
"Yes I did." Gajeel gave Levy a very serious stare that showed a hint of frustration but also worry and care. At last, Levy aired her concerns, censoring nothing. She was a terrible liar and even worse at hiding things. When at last she finished, Gajeel looked at her with a mix of questioning and... anger?  
He stared at her for a long while, and Levy became paranoid.  
"Well don't just sit there!"  
Gajeel remained silent for a few moments more before he took his head in his hands and sighed. When he finally looked back up at Levy, he began to speak:  
"Levy." He said, with another sigh. "Why do you worry about these things?" Levy started to interrupt, but was stopped by Gajeel's finger on her lips. "You got way more sex appeal than any of those other girls. Yeah, sure, you don't got big boobs but yours suit ya." Levy's heart rose to her throat, her pulse raised to a million miles per hour. "Besides," He continued, "Can you imagine how painful it'd be having tits like Bunny Girl's?" Levy giggled. "Then there's your face," He continued, giving Levy no room to speak or deny, "Damn, most girls would kill to have something like that on their neck. And you've actually got brains and kindness, which are way more important than looks even though you got those too." Levy was stunned. She didn't know what to say. "I could carry on..." Gajeel continued again, but with a smirk on his face, "But I'm saving that for another time." He winked. Levy blushed. Gajeel got up to walk away but before he left he said, "You look fine, trust me. Oh and for the date?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Wear something nice, I'm going all out." He grinned, and as soon as he was out of eyeshot, Levy fell right off that deck chair.


	10. Sunset

Levy's hand was shaking as she applied her mascara. Tonight was the big night. Her date with Gajeel! She had spent all day with the other girls trying to find something nice to wear in the surrounding shops when Wendy found the perfect dress: a baby pink flowy thing that cascaded to mid-thigh. It came with a matching headband with a silk rose of a slighly darker pink. Once she had applied some candy-pink lipstick, Levy looked in the mirror and was pleased with what she saw. She looked cute. She hoped that Gajeel would find her to be so too... Suddenly, there came a knock at her apartment door. Grabbing her little black handbag and slipping on her sandals, Levy opened the door to find Lily stood there looking incredibly tired.  
"Ah. Levy," He smiled, "You look lovely." Levy grinned and picked the small exceed up, holding him in her arms.  
"Why thank you, Lily. What brings you here."  
Lily scowled in Levy's embrace and burrowed deeper into her hold.  
"Gajeel, it seems, is having quite possibly the toughest fight he's ever faced;" He paused for effect, "Combing his hair."  
Levy laughed. Putting the exceed down, she went into the bathroom and grabbed the treasure trove of hair products she had bought that day.  
"Want me to come over?" She asked with a smile, returning to the door.  
"Please." Lily smiled. Levy couldn't help but notice how similar the tired glint in his eyes was to that of Gajeel's when he came back after a long job.  
Gajeel... Levy sighed slightly before shutting her door, being sure she had everything, and making her way to Gajeel's apartment. There, sat on the floor in a crisp white shirt and black trousers and fighting a mob of obsidian hair, sat Gajeel.  
"Ouch! Shit!" he cried, tackling the sea of knots with a comb.  
Levy giggled. Gajeel heard and turned round.  
"U-uh hey, Shrimp." He stammered, looking her up and down. Levy blushed. "You..." he seemed to ponder to himself for a second before finishing, "You look good." Levy's face turned the colour of Gajeel's eyes.  
"You seem to be struggling." She giggled. He scowled.  
"I ain't struggling."  
"Want me to help you?" She already knew the answer: Gajeel Redfox never wanted help. He went silent for a moment, before muttering,  
"Yes."  
Levy was shocked, but she grabbed her bag of hair products and sat behind Gajeel. Slowly, she worked a smoothing potion through his hair, massaging the blue product in with her fingers. When she reached a certain point, Gajeel gave off a quiet purr. Levy smirked to herself, and carried on in that same place, extracting more noises from him.  
"Shrimp. Stop."  
She carried on.  
"Shriiiiimmp..."  
Giggling, Levy stopped and carried on working on the rest of his hair. It was relaxing work, and when she finally ran her brush through the last lock of hair, she didn't want to stop.  
"There. All done." She grinned, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Her heart raced, she had never done something quite so risqué before.  
"Th-thanks." He replied, a light blush dusting his cheeks. "Umm... Shall we go?"  
Levy nodded to show her approval and they left. As they made their way out of the resort, they saw a large gaggle of girls from the guild: some drunk already.  
"Levy-chaaannnn!" Lucy slurred from the centre of the group, "You look goooddd! Hic!" Levy internally cringed at how drunk her friend was. "Use protectionnn! Hahaha!"  
Levy blushed and hurried through the gates and away from the throng of the drunk.  
After several failed attempts at small talk, the pair walked in silence. Levy looked up at her date; now that his hair was in some sort of order, he looked good. The obsidian locks somewhat floated behind him, showing off the well defined lines of his face. His eyes had some sort of sparkle to him and his piercings seemed to match, in fact, it seemed as if he had... _polished them?_ Just as Levy piped up to ask, Gajeel interrupted her.  
"Well Shrimp, we're here."  
Levy looked up to see where "here" was and her jaw dropped. They were at a restaurant, and a fancy looking one at that. Gajeel's lips curled into a wry smile, and he took her hand and lead her in: his skin on hers making her heart pound.  
The interior of the restaurant was just as amazing as the outside, there was a piano playing in the background. The furniture was manifactured from top quality wood and the red and mahogany tones throughout the room gave it a regal feel. Levy looked towards the door which lead to the kitchen and could have sworn she saw a waiter carrying a dessert topped with real gold.  
"Gajeel..." Levy was awestruck. Gajeel smirked and we made our way to a waitress with a big smile,  
"Welcome to Sunset restaurant, do you have a reservation?"  
"Yeah." Gajeel replied, "Under Redfox."  
The lady looked in the reservations book and found Gajeel's name. She then proceeded to escort them outdoors. The outdoor eating area was incredible, it was underneath a canopy of lemon trees and blossom, and the whole place was bursting with colour and blooms.  
"Gajeel..." Levy started, but was soon silenced by the waitress as she seated them down directly underneath a clearing in the lemons and fairy lights where the moonlight shone just so. The table was showered with white rose petals and two wine glasses and a bottle of chilled champagne stood waiting. She stared around in wonder as she sat in her seat and drank in her surroundings, unable to get enough of such a beautiful setting. The waitress handed out two menus, poured out two glasses of champagne and was about to leave them to their own devices when she leaned down to Levy's ear and whispered;  
"He's a keeper." She gave a wink and walked off. Levy started blushing profusely when she noticed that Gajeel was staring at her. Examining her, almost.  
"Gajeel?" Levy inquired, "Why are you staring at me?"  
Gajeel went all red and flustered and looked down at the table causing Levy to giggle. If she wasn't seeing things, she noticed Gajeel's face turn to the colour of a beetroot at her laugh. She didn't press him further though, she didn't want to mess up. The two were silent for a while, partially because they didn't know what to say, and partially because they didn't need to say anything to enjoy each other's company.  
"I was staring," Gajeel said at last, "Because you look beautiful."  
Levy smirked and replied,  
"That's really cliché, you know that?"  
"Yeah, but it's true." He pouted. Levy was rendered speechless.  
"You really think I'm beautiful?"  
"Have done for a while."  
The two just gazed at each other, each completely smitten in their own way, until a waiter came over and asked for their orders. Gajeel ordered a platter of mini ribs and a giant steak and Levy got a platter of deep fried aubergine with maple syrup **((try it, it's really nice!))** and paprika grilled squid **((again, nicer than it sounds.))**. Once their orders were taken, they sipped on champagne and finally started conversing. To anyone else, they only talked about silly little things, but to them, their conversation meant the world. It hid a thousand layers of significance and seemed to strengthen the growing fire that was how they felt for each other. Food came and went, Gajeel paid the bill (although Levy protested) and it had been, Levy thought, the perfect date. The only problem was, there had been no conclusion yet. Stuffed, the two made their way back to the resort, or so Levy thought. Gajeel instead guided her down another path to a small yet quaint promenade with fairy lights entwined around the barriers. They reached the end and just stood there for a while, leaning their heads on each other and watching the stars twinkle and the sea give each one a chance to see how beautiful they really were. Yet in the deep blue of the night sky, Levy noticed that Gajeel's red eyes shone brighter than anything. Brighter than any star she'd ever seen. Gajeel noticed her looking.  
"Shrimp?" He asked, mimicking her tone from earlier, "Why are you staring at me?"  
Levy looked up at him, smiled, and replied;  
"Because you look-"  
Before she could finish, her lips were caught up in Gajeel's. Despite his rough exterior, he had an incredibly soft touch. Then the reality of it began to kick in.  
 _I'm kissing Gajeel Redfox..._  
 _I'M KISSING GAJEEL FREAKING REDFOX!_  
Levy was so elated, she wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but she didn't want to pull away. It was so surreal. When they finally left the kiss, Gajeel looked as if he had the same train of thought. And as the moon kissed the ocean's roof, Gajeel pressed his forehead to Levy's and muttered,  
"Damn it _I love you_ , Levy McGarden."


End file.
